The present invention relates to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a slow cooker having a side heating element for applying heat to the cooking vessel and a top heating element for browning.
Slow cooking pots or so-called slow cookers for preparing and serving hot foods are known in the art. For example, a slow cooker of the type wherein food items are cooked slowly at low temperature over an extended period of time is a common kitchen appliance. Such prior art slow cookers typically include a heating element arranged in functional relation to the lower portion of the cooking vessel to supply heat for cooking.
However, applying heat only to the bottom and/or lower sidewalls of such a slow cooker can result in the upper portion of the cooking vessel being insufficiently heated. Thus, the food items in the upper portion of the cooking vessel often appear inadequately cooked and lack visual appeal to the consumer due to the slow rate at which heat is supplied to the upper portion of the cooking vessel.
Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to resolve this problem and other shortcomings of the prior art.